


The Scientist Boy

by darlingDesires



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluffiness, High School, High School AU, I love fluff, M/M, but mostly fluff and good times, much fluff, such cute, there might be some angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-19
Updated: 2016-10-31
Packaged: 2018-08-09 18:41:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 10,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7812856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darlingDesires/pseuds/darlingDesires
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“In other news, Students, we have a new transfer student who will be joining us today. I was told that his name was Carlos, and he moved to Night Vale from- where? Ah, yes. Carlos has moved here from Arizona, and will now be attending Night Vale High alongside us. Students, if you see Carlos around, be sure to give him a big, friendly Night Vale welcome.”<br/>“That concludes the daily bulletin, and remember that you are not to trust the literary professors. Stay far away from the English classes. Very far away. ‘Til next time, Night Vale High.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> blep
> 
> anyways, hey. I'm not up to date in Night Vale(I'm only on like episode 50... which isn't bad, but it's not good either) so if I write characters incorrectly or some of the information I write is dated, feel free to correct me in the comments if you so desired
> 
> but besides that, this is a HIGH SCHOOL AU, where everyone is old/young enough to go to High School. though not everyone is as normal as they may or may not seem..

“Gooood morning students of Night Vale High, it’s your daily announcements from your favorite Night Vale High representative, Cecil Palmer. Students. I have the day’s exciting bulletin in my hand, brought to you by the principal and staff of Night Vale High, and furthermore the vague yet menacing government agency that lords over us all.” Carlos gazed over at the speaker in the wall as a smooth voice read words from a paper about football games and various team sports, drifting into speech about the academic year. The attire of Carlos was messy flops of deep brown hair that curled and waved over his tan skin. If you were to look further at his outfit, you would look at his red and worn flannel, and blue, loose jeans that hung around his legs rather absentmindedly.

“In other news, Students, we have a new transfer student who will be joining us today. I was told that his name was Carlos, and he moved to Night Vale from- where? Ah, yes. Carlos has moved here from Arizona, and will now be attending Night Vale High alongside us. Students, if you see Carlos around, be sure to give him a big, friendly Night Vale welcome.” Carlos shifted slightly, face heating up as everyone in the attendance office turned towards him at the announcer’s words. He fidgeted with the sleeves of his flannel, face flushing just slightly. “That concludes the daily bulletin, and remember that you are not to trust the literary professors. Stay far away from the English classes. Very far away. ‘Til next time, Night Vale High.”

A quiet chime ended the announcements and everyone in the attendance office turned back towards themselves, bustling around to do their work. A particular woman that looked rather like a librarian ( what with her horn-rimmed glasses connected to a beaded string around her neck, as well as the brown hair pulled back into a tight bun ), flipped through manilla folders in a filing cabinet before pulling one out. She slipped papers into and out of the folder, placing a smaller paper on top of it and handing the folder to Carlos.

“Your classes are on the green sheet. The white one on top is a hall pass. Your first teacher of the day will excuse you from the class period due to filing errors, we have already notified her of such.” The lady spoke rather bluntly, watching Carlos. He gave a slight nod and took the papers from her with a slightly skeptical nod. She bared her pointed and sharp teeth, and suddenly, her eyes seemed like the pupils had disappeared. Carlos inhaled sharply and took a slow step backwards, clutching the folder to his chest tightly.

“Look out!”

Before he knew it, several things were happening at the same time, though at the end, one thing was clear. For one, the lady was gone and there was a giant hole in the ground where he had just been standing, and the second… a blonde boy was on top of him, and the both of them were sprawled out on the ground.

Carlos opened his mouth to thank the boy when he noticed that something wasn’t quite right about him. When the boy looked over to see Carlos, he looked with not two, but three eyes. His face flushed and he immediately pulled himself off of Carlos, and that’s when Carlos noticed the second strange thing about the boy. He was wearing a purple sweater with an eye stitched onto the front of it( not moving, thankfully ), and a white dress shirt below it. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, which allowed him to see clearly the tattoos that - literally - ran up and down his arms. He had what appeared to be tattoos of tentacles up his arms and around his neck, trailing up to his face, but the tattoos were…  _ moving _ . Moving quite quickly at that. The more Carlos stared at them, the more they seemed to flicker and move as they traveled up and down the blonde’s body, in and out of sight behind his attire. Carlos shifted away from him slightly, skeptical of it all. The boy squinted all three of his eyes and scrambled for a moment before picking up a pair of glasses with purple rims and slipping them up, taking full view of the new kid in front of him, Carlos.

“Are you alright?” The blonde boy asked. Something about his voice sounded familiar, Carlos thought. Carlos nodded softly, and he couldn’t help but stare at the blonde’s tattoos some more. The blonde immediately became self conscious and brought a hand up to his arm, gripping it gently and halting the movement of the tattoos for the moment as embarrassment flushed his face. “Sorry… they do that sometimes. But couldn’t you see you were speaking with a Librarian? That was extremely reckless of you!”

That’s when Carlos recognized the voice. It was Cecil… if he remembered correctly. He had listened to the announcements just moments ago, though he hadn’t payed too much attention to names or information. It had just seemed like general nonsense.

“A… Librarian?” Carlos asked skeptically.

“Of course!” Cecil replied, getting himself up and off of the floor, holding out a hand for Carlos. Carlos took it, and stood up. “Didn’t you know that Librarians have infiltrated Night Vale High? I spoke about English teachers and literary professors in the daily bulletin, and everybody knows that Librarians disguise themselves as those two.”

“Uh… huh.” Carlos brushed some dust off his pants. At this point, he’d be willing to believe anything this boy told him. He was more in a state of unreal asphyxiation, and it all felt like one big, long dream.

A sudden look of realization crossed Cecil’s face along with a flushed expression. “Oh. My. You’re the transfer student. Carlos, right? And you’re from Arizona.”

“Yeah,” Carlos replied. Cecil clicked his tongue worriedly, tapping his foot for a moment before turning back to Carlos.

“You may or may not be familiar with the goings on of Night Vale, Carlos. Dear, sweet Carlos. Assuming you are you, and you are from where they say you’re from, you don’t have a reference point to go off of.” Cecil spoke, “You know, I’ve always been curious what it is like outside of Night Vale, but whenever I try to leave I find myself back in town square. Tell me, Carlos, do the people of Arizona frequent dog parks and serve wheat and wheat byproducts?”

That… was an odd icebreaker question, thought Carlos. “Well, I guess so. Do they not here?”

“Absolutely not.” Cecil took a deep breath, folding his hands with his index fingers sticking out of the bundle as he looked over Carlos. “I suppose I’ll have to show you around the school, dear Carlos, so we can avoid any more… ‘accidents’.”

Cecil went over to the rest of the bustling office behind the counter and politely requested two hall passes, which he was given with ease. Cecil then kindly instructed Carlos to follow him as he began to walk out of the attendance office, and Carlos followed, truly believing that this was a fever dream and he’d wake up at any moment to go to his real first day of school. Cecil toured Carlos around the campus, and there was nothing remarkable about it, except for one thing.

“And finally, we have the gym and locker rooms, where the students participate in mandatory physical activities and are graded on them.” Cecil concluded, slipping his hands into his pockets. Carlos had been paying attention to the tattoos swirling on Cecil’s arms before he directed his gaze up to wherever Cecil was looking. It was a large mural on the wall of the gym of one giant, purple eye with a crescent moon in the pupil. The background was varying hues of purple in no particular pattern, and telephone poles as well as mountains were silhouetted in black on the mural.

“...woah.” Cecil said, gazing at the mural in awe. Cecil began explaining that certain students weren’t allowed to look directly at it, because the mural was dated six years in the future and it would break the cycle of time if said students were to gaze at it. Most of it just went over Carlos’s head, though one thing he did notice was that Cecil had managed to leave out the library that could be seen a little ways away. He looked towards it, but didn’t say anything, because Cecil was still speaking about the mural and who could and couldn’t look at it.

“...Now, we have a break after the classes currently in session get out, so you’ll be free to explore the campus at your leisure. But please, make wise choices next time, Carlos from Arizona.” Cecil finished.

“...Okay,” Carlos said, holding the folder to his chest. Cecil’s tattoos leisurely swayed and traveled across his skin, which was quite distracting to Carlos for some reason, but at least they weren’t going as crazily as they were earlier. Now that Carlos looked closely at the markings, he noticed that they weren’t necessarily tentacles, they were just… purple strips that were contoured to  _ look _ like tentacles. Carlos looked up at Cecil. “Why did you get those tattoos? Are you even old enough to get tattooed?”

“Tattoos?” Cecil asked, genuinely curious. His eyes followed Carlos’s and he looked down at the purple streaks moving across his skin, and figured that’s what Carlos meant. “These? They’re not tattoos, they’re the markings symbolizing… something. Nobody’s ever seen them before, or at least not that they can remember, and nobody can seem to remember what they mean, either.”

“So they’re just… kind of there.” Carlos half-asked, half-said. Cecil nodded in response, rolling the sleeves of his sweater down. Now all that was visible was the occasional one on his neck, and a few on his hands, though not many.

“Yeah,” Cecil said in extra confirmation in case the other hadn’t caught his nod, humming slightly and rocking back and forth on his feet. “They’re fun to watch sometimes.”

“I’ll bet.” Carlos slipped his hands into the pockets of his worn blue jeans, sighing softly. He looked up at the mural again, taking in the hues of purple that seemed rather turbulent instead of the traditional still painting. A bell rung in the distance, echoing through the halls as the students trudged out of their classrooms, and Carlos could get a full view of the school’s and town’s inhabitants.

Everyone was different, they didn’t exactly seem… human. They all had inhuman traits and quirks of their own. Carlos suddenly felt out of place, bringing his hands out of his pockets and folding his arms over his chest. His mind was too dazed to process everything that was going on, but he could tell that nobody here was fully human. Nobody but him.

Cecil began walking towards him, but he was wearing a plain yellow sweater. Carlos blinked, looking between yellow-sweater Cecil, who was walking towards him, and purple-sweater Cecil, who was right next to him.

Purple-sweater Cecil scoffed, shifting his hands into his pocket. Yellow-sweater Cecil chuckled with a bright smile, turning towards Carlos. “Carlos, dear, is that correct? Welcome to Night Vale!”

“That’s my line,” Purple-sweater Cecil mumbled.

Upon closer inspection, purple-sweater Cecil and yellow-sweater Cecil were very different. Yes, they adorned the same hair color, but purple-sweater Cecil kept his hair flowing free and yellow-sweater Cecil’s hair was well-groomed. Yellow-sweater seemed to have pitch black eyes-- though only two of them, and he didn’t wear glasses. Tattoos, markings, whatever they were, weren’t present on yellow-sweater. His teeth were sharp, though, and he had holes in his cheeks, which… was rather unnerving. Yellow-sweater put an arm around purple-sweater. “I see you’ve already met my twin!”

“Twin..?” Carlos asked (and he wasn’t quite sure why he had asked, the resemblance was rather uncanny), glancing between the two of them. Purple-sweater Cecil pursed his lips. Yellow-sweater Cecil grinned broader.

“ Kevin, meet Carlos, the new student. Carlos, meet Kevin.” Cecil said. “My… twin brother.”

Kevin, the yellow-sweater twin, smiled with his pointed teeth, and his aura seemed darker than before, giving him a creepy look, if he didn’t look creepy already. Carlos could feel anxiety welling up in his chest. “Pleasure to meet you, Carlos the new student!”

“Knock it off, Kevin.” Cecil shoved Kevin gently and the aura dissipated, and laughter ignited from Kevin. Carlos breathed an inward sigh of relief, he’d really have to stay on his toes and be aware of his surroundings.

“Well, I’d love to stay and chit chat, but I’ve got things to do and people to see! I’m off then, see ya Ceec! Nice meeting you Car!” Kevin chipperly strode away after giving a small wave to the two of them.

“Car?” Carlos raised an eyebrow at the receding form of Kevin, who couldn’t hear him.

“ _ Kevin _ feels the need to give everyone nicknames,” Cecil said rather indignantly, huffing just slightly and moving some hair out of his face with his hand.

“Huh,” Carlos spoke as he turned back towards Cecil. The silence that lingered between them lasted much longer then it probably should have, but it definitely wasn’t an uncomfortable silences. It was one of those silences that both people enjoyed, and the need to break it didn’t feel there, like when two friends meet for the first time in years and all that’s exchanged is welcome silence and fond memories. It was already as if Cecil and Carlos had known each other for years.

“I...” Cecil finally said, markings swirling up and down his neck and some on his face. “Have to go. ASB meeting.”

Carlos nodded. “Okay. I’ll… see you around, I guess?”

Cecil’s face was colored with emotions, all of which were difficult for the sciency boy to read. “Yeah, see you around I guess.”


	2. Science and Gardens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What Cecil knew and Carlos didn’t, was that there was no Student Body meeting that day. Student Body meetings were not held during the day, or at set times and places. There was no way for the new student to know that, and Cecil felt ashamed of himself for taking advantage of the knowledge not presented to the boy with the perfect hair. Instead, he excused himself so he could catch the breath he didn’t realise he was unable to make use of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's a bit shorter than the first chapter, but it took a ton of revision (and trips to thesaurus.com) to write the garden scene so I kinda wanted to leave it here *shrugs*

What Cecil knew and Carlos didn’t, was that there was no Student Body meeting that day. Student Body meetings were not held during the day, or at set times and places. There was no way for the new student to know that, and Cecil felt ashamed of himself for taking advantage of the knowledge not presented to the boy with the perfect hair. Instead, he excused himself so he could catch the breath he didn’t realise he was unable to make use of. His face was flushed, and the wild and erratic movements of his markings could only mean one thing: he was in love.

Cecil rounded a corner and leaned back against the wall, bringing a hand up to his chest as his heart pounded in his ears.  _ Oh my god. _ Cecil glanced back around the corner to see the receding form of Carlos and his perfect,  _ perfect _ hair. Cecil worshiped that hair, and would do anything for that hair.

Meanwhile, Carlos just kind of wandered around the school, hands in his pockets. Even though Cecil had given him a ‘full tour,’ there were still certain places that he hadn’t taken him, such as the library and the school gardens. Due to a certain mishap earlier with a certain ‘librarian’, Carlos didn’t want to go to the library, so the school gardens seemed like a nice enough place to explore. He enjoyed gardening, and his mother was a horticulturist and a pursuer of all things green. The garden was a place he had learned to appreciate.

The entrance to the garden was a white tunnel made out of wooden spikes that stuck into the ground and curved over Carlos’s head. Green vines twisted and turned around the canopy of wood, gnarly yet elegant at the same time. Around the entrance was high walls of green bushes, neatly trimmed into a fine shape of what probably was the world’s most perfect rectangle.

The garden itself was extremely beautiful. Along the sides of a well-groomed stone path were boxes of plants, adorned with different types of flowers and plants with small signs that named the plant for the non-gardeners who couldn’t identify the plant at first sight. Fragaria × ananassa, cucumis melo var. inodorus, dionaea muscipula… wait.

Carlos took another look at that last one. A Venus Fly Trap, in layman's terms. It was a lot larger than the general fly traps were, which was… rather odd. It almost seemed as if it was big enough to devour…  _ humans _ .

That gave the scientist chills. Why had he even thought of that? Are his thoughts even his own, or are they planted there by some otherworldly being? Perhaps the Great Beast of Reality, or a Smiling God perchance?

“...What,” Carlos asked himself out loud, just to validate his existence and discredit his own thoughts. He shook his head slightly. This school was messing with him. Though it shouldn’t be scientifically possible for a building or collection of buildings to influence your thoughts and thinking process. Though, with the things he’d seen today, he’d be willing to vilify his rationale and just… ‘go with the flow’ or so to speak.

A small fountain could now be seen as Carlos passed the ominously large fly traps. The fountain was made of a beautiful ivory-like substance, with crystal clear water elegantly tumbling and drifting down into the bowl of the fountain. The droplets gathered in ribbons as they flowed in the bottom of the fountain, swishing peacefully and lullingly, like a sprite or fairy bringing peace and good feelings to anyone listening to the sweet symphony of water orchestrated by the sky and the sun itself.

The garden was an oddly enchanting place, all in all. Yet, when Carlos looked around with an objective lense, he could notice an air of dread that seemed to hang around the garden, though it was heavily masked and disguised by the sweetness of the smells and sounds. Carlos shifted slightly as the hairs on the back of his neck rose. The almost perfect feel and strangely conflicted atmosphere was enough to make him want to leave the garden, so he did just that, footsteps making quiet and muffled sounds as a feeling of discomfort loomed over his conscious. The moment he stepped out of the garden, he felt a certain longing, and a sense of loss and emptiness. Carlos suddenly felt cold, bringing his hands up to his arms as he looked back into the garden, which seemed even more appealing now that he was gone. He shook off the feeling, and when he pried his eyes away from the lure of the garden as the bell rang, which signaled the students to head to their next classes. Carlos looked at his schedule, quickly located his class, and headed towards it. It was fairly easy to locate, too, since the layout of the school was fairly simple.

The class was English, and it was a standard English class, except the students were extremely wary of the teacher and kept their distance from him. Some were even on guard, eyes trained on the teacher like a hawk ready to strike, and some students would quiver when the teacher got near them. Carlos remembered Cecil saying something about English teachers and librarians..? Maybe that’s what this is about.

English passed by without much interruption, and Carlos had his favorite genre of class next, science! More specifically, Chemistry, but it was science nonetheless, so Carlos was absolutely ecstatic about it. He was out of his seat the moment the bell rang, and hurried eagerly through the halls of odd students and incoherent mumbles until he reached his Chemistry class. He was there before the class had even started, so he took a seat up in the front row and took out his notebook, ready for class to start.

Cecil groaned. Chemistry. He didn’t like science, in fact, that was probably his least favorite subject in school. It was always so tedious, and the class or subject was  _ not _ interesting in the slightest. As Cecil walked into the classroom, he noted that a boy was sitting by the front. A boy with perfect, perfect hair. “Carlos?”

Carlos looked from the decorations in the classroom to the purple-themed boy standing in the doorway. “Oh! Hi, Cecil!” A warm smile enveloped Carlos’s face, and Cecil couldn’t help but smiling back, feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. Cecil was worried it was the new virus spreading that he had heard about on the radio.

Cecil stood there for a moment longer before Carlos beckoned to come sit next to him. Cecil obliged, taking his seat next to the other. Seeing him so ready for class made Cecil smile a  bit more than he had been previously, adjusting his seat so it was ever so slightly closer to Carlos. Cecil sat on the right side of Carlos, and he noticed something peculiar about the boy.

“You’re left-handed?” Cecil asked, giving a little smile.

Carlos gave a smile back, blushing just slightly. “Yeah.” Cecil blushed a bit, biting his tongue as he fiddled with the sleeves of his sweater.  _ So cute! _

Before either of them could pull their gaze away, the bell rang, and the rest of the students took their seats as class began to start. As the lesson droned on in the typical fashion of Chemistry and science teachers, Cecil couldn’t help but watch Carlos. He was writing down notes diligently, hair fallen in his face as he listened intently. Carlos was working away. It was likely that he didn’t notice that he had his tongue stuck out just slightly in concentration, which was probably the most adorable thing ever.

_ Science suddenly just got a lot more interesting _ , Cecil thought to himself with a slight smile.


	3. Haircuts of Despair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s been about two months since Carlos transferred, and it was the month of December. A cold, and dismal month that Cecil enjoyed. Not because of the snow that piled up and drifted down in the desert community, but because when he wrapped himself in a blanket and drank hot chocolate indoors it would warm him all over, even his soul and insides. It was a pleasant and welcoming feeling after the coldness of the outside.

Cecil groggily opened his eyes as his alarm clock began to blare a high-pitched shriek standard for all alarm clocks. As he became aware of his surroundings, he had fallen asleep at his desk and on his homework. His chemistry homework, to be specific. Cecil had spent most of the night working on complex reactions in study for the test that day. He yawned, rubbing his eyes gently as he slid his glasses back on. The posters regarding the Night Vale community radio station that hung around his room greeted him as he changed into a fresh set of clothing. He greeted the posters back.

It’s been about two months since Carlos transferred, and it was the month of December. A cold, and dismal month that Cecil enjoyed. Not because of the snow that piled up and drifted down in the desert community, but because when he wrapped himself in a blanket and drank hot chocolate indoors it would warm him all over, even his soul and insides. It was a pleasant and welcoming feeling after the coldness of the outside.

Cecil made his way to school in time to glance at the daily bulletin before going live over the intercom, transmitting the news given to him to the students of Night Vale High. Being the announcer for the Student Body was an honor he was all too happy to accept. He listened to the Night Vale community radio every chance he got, finding the radio host an interesting man to listen to. That was his ideal dream job, to go into radio. His thoughts began to drift to other things as he mindlessly read what was presented to him, breaking off into a small tangent he hadn’t realized he was talking about. He stopped and blushed. What had he said?

Carlos, on the other hand, had been listening to the daily bulletin rather attentively. “l...And don’t forget, students, the science labs will be closed down for maintenance this Thursday. Poor young and aspiring scientists, like Carlos. Dear, sweet Carlos, without his science tools, test tubes, and whatnot. Good thing his hair is as perfect as always,”

Carlos’s face flushed a deep color of embarrassment, as various students around the class looked back at him with a chuckle and snicker, some even winking. Carlos buried his face in the hood of his parka as Cecil continued on about his hair. It was almost as if-

Hold on. Wait just a moment. Carlos’s thoughts stopped dead in his tracks as he began to piece together the bits and pieces of hints Cecil had subtly dropped over the past two months.  _ Was he… in love with me? Am I in love with him?  _

Over the intercom, Cecil seemed to pause and hesitate for a moment before quickly diverting the subject back to the school’s affairs. The school had a mistress, and the students were dying to hear who it was, and why the school was having an affair.

The announcements ended right on time, and as soon as class started, everyone had forgotten about Cecil’s speech about Carlos’s hair. Carlos hadn’t forgotten, though, and was paranoid that he’d get teased that day. He’d been meaning to get a haircut, anyhow, so today after school was the perfect time to do so.

The day passed by normally. Carlos hung out with Cecil and Cecil’s friends, which had grown to be his friends, too, by that point. Though after school, Carlos had asked his mom to drive him somewhere he could get his hair trimmed. It was rather unruly, after all. His mom suggested going to Telly’s, one of the women she had met goes to Telly’s barber shop and gets her hair cut there. Carlos agreed, and his mom drove him down there so he could trim his long hair into a style that he better liked, more like an undercut then anything.

The next day, Carlos listened to Cecil announcing bulletins with a slight smile on his face. He enjoyed listening to Cecil’s voice, even if it was only over an intercom.

Carlos went through his first few classes as usual, and at break he made his way over to where he and Cecil normally met. The blonde was there waiting for him, but when his eyes trailed over to Carlos he had to do a double take.

“...Carlos?” Cecil asked.

“Yeah?” Carlos replied.

“Carlos, what happened to your hair?”

“I cut it.”

“Sweet jesus, Carlos!” Cecil said, rushing over to Carlos and bringing a hand to his hair. “Why? Why would you cut the wonderful locks of chocolate hair adorning your head?”

“My hair was getting too long,” Carlos said quietly, face flushing as he suddenly felt extremely guilty for trimming his hair. Cecil mourned the loss of the other’s hair, mumbling incoherently as he ran his hands through the short locks of curly hair on Carlos’s head. To attempt to console Cecil, Carlos added, “I don’t like it when it gets as long as it was.. I’m sorry.”

“Carlos,” Cecil said, in a hurt tone, pausing for a moment before saying, “This is almost as bad as attending the Summer Reading Program.”

“I’m sorry,” Carlos apologized again, pulling the hood of his parka up over his head and face just slightly. He had no idea what summer reading had to do with anything, but he figured it was just another ‘Night Vale Thing’. Funny that he’d already started considering them ‘Night Vale Things’ and he’d only been here for as long as he had.

Cecil suddenly began to talk again after a small pause of silence. “Carlos, I… have something to tell you. I love you...r hair. I love your hair and am upset that you cut it.”

Carlos’s face flushed a deep red after Cecil’s slip-up with words. Was it a slip up? Half of Carlos hoped it was, but the other half of him definitely believed that it wasn’t. Carlos shook his head just slightly to clear his thoughts. “I’ll know not to cut it next time,” Carlos noted with a small chuckle, mostly to himself but it came to the comfort of the other.

Cecil smiled, and Carlos smiled back. The bell signaling the end of the short break said that it was time for Carlos to attend English, then  _ Chemistry! _

Cecil said goodbye to Carlos, heart pounding in his ears. Normally, Geography was his most fun subject, but all Cecil could think about was Carlos and how he’d get to be with the nerdy-yet-adorable science boy in his next class.

Cecil managed to make it through Geography, and Chemistry seemed to go by all too fleetingly. Whenever he thought Carlos wasn’t looking, he’d glance over at the spanish boy and take in every little detail as if this was the last time he’d see the other. Once, Carlos saw Cecil look at him, and looked over. The two of them had locked gaze for a moment before Cecil retreated sheepishly, face colored a deep shade of embarrassed red. Carlos chuckled just slightly, blushing as well as he turned back to the slip of test paper in front of him with questions unique to the student.

Class finished silently, Cecil didn’t dare to steal glances at the other any more. They stood up and Carlos’s look lingered before he gave an awkward little wave and shoved his things into his backpack, walking off with a flushed look on his face.

Cecil’s thoughts were occupied by Carlos for the rest of the day. It was difficult for him to focus on anything else, he even caught himself doodling small portraits of the scientist boy before quickly covering them up with a paper, but not erasing them. They were too good to erase, too perfect, yet unable to capture the true perfection and likeness of Carlos the Scientist. Cecil sighed softly, waiting for the day to end. When it did so, his father came to school to pick him and Kevin up. As Cecil got into the car, he spotted Carlos talking to a boy with long white hair. The two of them were chatting away, and Carlos was laughing a little. That was the last thing Cecil saw before he was driven away from the school, feeling a pang of jealousy in his heart.


	4. "Normal"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Cecil, are you sizing Aurin up?”

Cecil had trouble sleeping that night. His mind was racing. _Who was Carlos with? Why were they hanging out together and…_

Before he knew it, his alarm shrieked at him (and not in a metaphorical sense), and it was time to get up and get ready for school. Cecil stood up and began to get dressed after firmly telling his alarm to stop shrieking, he was _awake,_ damn it.

After slipping his glasses on and at least _attempting_ to tame his hair in the mirror, Cecil began to realize how tired he was this morning. His lack of sleep the night before left him exhausted and lethargic. He rubbed his face with his hands and sighed audibly, frowning just slightly as he packed up his things.

He went downstairs and started making breakfast for himself, and by making breakfast for himself he meant asking the strange black ooze in his fridge for a meal, which it so generously provided him. He thanked the goo.

After breakfast and the usual process of waking up the rest of the household, Cecil’s father drove him and Kevin to school, dropping them off as per usual. On his way to the office for his copy of the daily bulletin, Cecil noticed Carlos hanging out with that white-haired boy from yesterday again.

Cecil glanced between the doors to the office and the love of his life- er, Carlos. His mind made a quick decision, and he decided to walk over to where Carlos was standing with the stranger.

The stranger was a rather pale and frail boy, yet tall, with long, straight white hair that hung around his face and covered one of his eyes. His eye was a pale blue, and his sweatshirt was more of a pastel teal, with a cartoon graphic of a ghost from pac-man printed on it. His pants were white bell-bottoms, and he almost didn’t seem… there. He noticed the purple-themed boy walking up to them and offered a small and soft smile. Carlos turned his head, too, to see Cecil.

“Oh, hey Cecil.” Carlos said.

“Hello, Carlos.” Cecil responded rather callously. “Who’s this?”

“Cecil, meet my friend, Aurin. Aurin, meet Cecil. My other friend.” Carlos seemed to have a slight smile on his face as the boy with long white hair, Aurin supposedly, smiled, holding out a hand.

“Nice to meet you,” Aurin said quietly. Cecil took his hand and shook it, checking out just about how strong the other was. Their handshake lingered for a little too long, which made the weaker boy slightly yet visibly uncomfortable. Carlos quirked an eyebrow and laughed quietly.

“Cecil, are you sizing Aurin up?”

Cecil let go of the other’s hand and his face flushed, looking over at Carlos. “No.” There was a short stretch of silence where Aurin tucked his hair behind his ear and looked away shyly. Cecil excused himself for the daily announcements and entered the office, receiving what he would say over the intercom and reviewing the information before practicing his speaking voice to himself while he waited for his cue.

The rest of the day, he found himself dozing off during class, which earned himself detention when caught in in his French class. He sighed to himself, barely managing to keep his eyelids open through the rest of the class and the ones that followed. He couldn’t even be attentive in Chemistry, so much Carlos and so little sleep equal an unhappy Cecil.

At lunch, Cecil made his way to the table usually sat at, and he saw Aurin seated with a small bit of a smile, laughing at something Steve Carlsberg had said. Ughhh, _he_ was there, too? Cecil gave an exasperated sigh to himself, dragging his body to the table. He was immediately noticed by everyone there, unfortunately including Steve Carlsberg.

“Hey, Cecil!” Steve said.

“Hello, _Steve_.” Cecil said bitterly.

 

As the day went on, clouds began to roll in, making the sky dismal and dark, gray shadows casting across the ground. The school’s atmosphere became darker, which made people, including Cecil, a little bit gloomier.

Carlos’s day, however, was the exact _opposite_ of dismal. His day was going by smoothly, he’d gotten a good grade on a couple different tests and he’d met someone else that was “normal”.

Aurin didn’t have any other quirks. No tentacles, extra appendages, or oddly inhuman bits. He was like Carlos… “normal”. Carlos was completely _thrilled_ to have someone else who was just like him in a town of strange and supernatural humanoid beings. Apart from that, Aurin was… nice. He was just generally an all-around good guy, as quiet and distant as he might be. What was cool about it was that they shared a few classes together, but had never taken note of each other before that day.

Aurin seemed to have traces of a happy composure in the draft air outside, humidity and all. That made Carlos smile, too, knowing that he was happy in the cloudy atmosphere.

“So, you like cold weather?” Carlos pondered out loud, attempting to make conversation and turning towards Aurin slightly. They were walking between classes, so it was perfect time to start up some friendly conversation to bide the time in between. Aurin nodded in response, mumbling something quietly that Carlos didn’t quite catch. Carlos smiled anyway. A shard of hail hit him on the nose and startled him just slightly, looking up to see that the dark clouds had gotten darker and heavier, almost looming over the school. Normally that would indicate rain, but in this case, it was indicative of hail or snow. Carlos assumed the former due to the fact that, well, he’d just gotten hit by a small shard of hail.

Aurin and Carlos arrived at their class as soon as the hail started to come down heavily. The principal came on over the PA and told students to stay inside their classrooms until further notice due to the abnormal weather. _Hah, “abnormal_ ”, Carlos thought. _“Normal” weather would likely be raining cats and dogs. Literally._

It happened to be an extracurricular class the two of them were in, too, Theater. The teacher exclaimed that since everyone had to stay indoors, some work _must_ be done on those improv skills of theirs. She clapped her hands together rather energetically (and somehow louder than the hail beating down against the roof) as she instructed the class to find a partner and work on improv acting. Carlos pursed his lips just slightly and turned to Aurin, who was already looking back at him. They made eye contact and somehow knew that they’d be partners, considering everybody else in the room had already partnered up. This was besides the fact that neither of them knew anybody else in that class.

The teacher had been saying something, but the hubbub in the class and chatter between partners drowned it out, and the oblivious teacher didn’t repeat herself. That meant Carlos and Aurin had no idea what they were doing.

“Well,” Carlos began, eyes glancing between the quiet one and the rest of the room, “guess we’ll just have to _improvise_ , huh?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *casually doesn't talk about Steve rip*
> 
> but eh
> 
> anyways, what do you guys think about Aurin? :>


	5. Prolonged Longing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cecil tapped his foot against the tile of the classroom gently, staring rather intently out the window and into the hail that came down in a sheet so thick he could barely make out what was beyond the window. It didn't look like it would be stopping anytime soon. The foot-tapping soon gently escalated to knee-bouncing. He didn't at all enjoy his time in this class, and it didn't help that he was away from his babe.

After a bit of improvisation and such, the bell rang to go to the next class of the day, but the announcer over the PA reiterated to ignore the previously scheduled bells and to just stay indoors. Out of all of the classes to be stuck in, Carlos had to be stuck in theater. It wasn’t exactly the best class, or his favorite. It didn’t even make his top three to be honest. He wasn’t even with Cecil.

Carlos sighed, slinking back into his chair as the boisterous teacher began speaking of how  _ wonderful _ this opportunity would be! Spending a great deal of time with her students, acting, improvising, creating skits! She was too excited about it for anyone’s good, really. Not that Carlos wanted to put the humanoid tiger-being out, he just didn’t particularly enjoy or treasure the moments he spent in her class. They weren’t even generally memorable, but he had some fun times.  Now that he thought about it, there were some rather mixed feelings about this class that Carlos would rather not sort through at that moment. He’d rather just forget about everything else and play cards with Aurin, or talk to each other to pass the time. Aurin didn’t do much talking, and he always seemed rather winded and exhausted when making an effort to speak, but he was a good listener, and he seemed rather interested in what Carlos had to say, so that much was alright.

Now,  _ Cecil _ , on the other hand, loathed the hail that seemed to pelt down from the sky. It’s what kept himself and Carlos so far apart. And by ‘so far apart’, he meant ‘as far apart as two people separated by a few classrooms can be’. Which was, regardless, much too far away for Cecil’s liking.

Cecil tapped his foot against the tile of the classroom gently, staring rather intently out the window and into the hail that came down in a sheet so thick he could barely make out what was beyond the window. It didn't look like it would be stopping anytime soon. The foot-tapping soon gently escalated to knee-bouncing. He didn't at all enjoy his time in this class, and it didn't help that he was  _ away  _ from his babe.

Cecil stopped bouncing his knee and gripped his desk, sighing. His teacher noticed the boy’s state of unrest and turned towards him with a slight smile, walking over to him. She spoke softly, and just to him, “Tu va bien?”

Cecil’s attention was brought up to her, and he smiled back emptily. “Oui.” She quirked an eyebrow and glanced at him with a soft look.

“Êtes-vous sûr?”

“Oui… je suis sûr.” Whether it was the pause between his words, some facial cue, or just his body language, she gave a knowing smile that made Cecil quirk an eyebrow. The teacher just sauntered away, leaving Cecil to wonder what she concluded.

His thoughts just drifted away as time went on and hail continued pelting down on the school’s roof. He thought about Carlos, and the hail, and Carlos again, around and around like a horse on a carousel. He sat up straight and tall, brushing both hands through his blonde hair with a small sigh. Could this class get any more boring?

The hail began to let up, surprisingly, and Cecil’s face was nearly pressed up against the window. A man began speaking over the PA and announced to the school that once the hail let up, the students were not only free to leave the classroom, they were also free to leave the school since so much time had already been wasted and there was positively  _ no _ decent or controlled way to restore the school’s schedule without causing pandemonium or confusion. Cecil decided that the first thing he’d do would be to find Carlos and ask him… on a date. Yes, he would ask the scientist boy on a date the moment he saw the other.

_ There is no turning back,  _ Cecil thought to himself as he confidently strode out of the classroom. He searched around for Carlos, having absolutely no clue where he could be on the rather large campus of Night Vale High but wandering around in a determined manner anyway.

Carlos smiled softly. It was still rather cloudy out, but at least it wasn’t hailing anymore. Aurin had asked Carlos if he wanted to go get frozen yogurt after school, and of course, Carlos accepted. He  _ loved _ frozen yogurt!

Cecil marched up to the two of them, brushing his hands down his sweater rather nervously before offering a cheerful smile towards Carlos.

“Carlos! My dear, sweet, Carlos.” Cecil said. Carlos smiled softly.

“Hey Cecil!” Carlos chirped, “Aurin invited me out for froyo. Want to come?”

_ Well,  _ thought Cecil,  _ there goes your chance to ask the cutie science nerd out. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *cries bc it's so short*
> 
> sorry it's kind of slow this chapter, it's been difficult for me to write them apart :0
> 
> so anyways, have this smol bit to tide you over until next chapter! UwU


	6. Say Anything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Carlos talked, he began to notice how tired and worn out Aurin looked. The ghostly pale boy seemed to be zoning out, even though at the same time it seemed as if he was listening and invested in Carlos’s Nerd Talk™. He stopped talking for a moment, exchanging science talk for concerned talk. “Hey, you okay? You haven’t even touched your froyo.”

The walk to the froyo shop was rather quiet, only the slight sounds of the town around Carlos and Aurin to fill the silence. Some students were hanging around on the grass patch outside of the school, one of them had a guitar and was playing a rather lovely melody as another sang. Some students behind them played fetch with the teachers. Cars mulled down the road quietly, and general people from the town around them mused to themselves as they walked down the street. One woman was on fire, but didn’t seem to be fazed by it, and rather continued to walk her dog. All in all, the atmosphere post-hail was lovely and peaceful.

Aurin’s long hair hung down in his face in strings, and it was a near miracle he could see out of the thin strands acting as a curtain in front of his face. Carlos’s brown hair was a bit messy, the slight humidity in the air causing it to frizz up just a bit. Both of their hair was tousled just slightly by a light breeze that swept through Night Vale.

The frozen yogurt shop was nearly empty, save for a few groups of people. Carlos and Aurin retrieved their cold treats (and Aurin  _ insisted _ on paying, though Carlos said he was more than happy to pay) and sat at a table on the near outskirts of the patio. A small umbrella sprouted from the center of the table to offer shade to those below it. Some time had passed as the chatted and such.

The patio around them had a few other students and general Night Vale residents, since everybody wanted to get out and about after being trapped indoors by the hail. Most of the people in the froyo shop were chatting amongst themselves, creating a low, quiet, and indistinguishable hum of speech too low for Carlos to catch most of. He thought he’d seen Cecil in the corner of his vision at one point, but when he turned to look, he was nowhere to be seen. Aurin listened as Carlos began to talk about some sciency things he’d learned and about an experiment he conducted, and Aurin’s froyo sat in front of him, untouched.

As Carlos talked, he began to notice how tired and worn out Aurin looked. The ghostly pale boy seemed to be zoning out, even though at the same time it seemed as if he was listening and invested in Carlos’s Nerd Talk ™ . He stopped talking for a moment, exchanging science talk for concerned talk. “Hey, you okay? You haven’t even touched your froyo.”

Aurin nodded slightly, picking up his spoon and taking a small bite out of the gelato. “Yeah, I’m alright. Just focusing. On your words.”

Carlos nodded skeptically, fidgeting with the sleeves of his flannel. “You seem pretty out of it, we can hang out another time if you’re not feeling up to it.”

“If you think so.” Aurin said softly, closing his eyes for a moment and breathing in with noticeable motion in his shoulders and chest before looking back at Carlos. “It’s up to you.”

“...Okay,” Carlos said, standing up, “Want me to walk you home?”

“That’s okay.” Aurin replied, standing up with Carlos. “I’ll walk myself.”

Carlos complied, and after an awkward good-bye wave from both parties, Carlos headed on back home.

When he arrived at said home, he set his backpack down and sighed. His parents were likely still at work, it was only noon-ish after all. He gave the two of them a call to tell them he was alright and home, and also partly to check on them to see if they were caught in the strange midday hail. Carlos got himself a glass of water, and went upstairs to his bedroom to sit on the springy chair he loved so much. Maybe he’d re-read a book in a bit, he didn’t really know how he’d spend the rest of his afternoon.

A little further into his day, he’d finished his homework and already read a bit of his book when he started to hear some music gently drifting through the open window of his bedroom. For a moment, he assumed it was just the neighbors. But as the music continued, he got up with a sigh and went over to his window, sticking his head out to look for the source of the music.

Cecil stood in the driveway of Carlos’s house, holding a boombox above his head as a sweet and unfamiliar song drifted up to the window. Carlos just laughed, a smile breaking out on his face.

“Cecil,” Carlos said, face flushing a slight red, “What’s all this?”

“Carlos,” Cecil paused, “my dear, sweet, lovely Carlos… will you go on a date with me?” Cecil asked, eyes locked on Carlos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small 800 word anecdote to feed your Cecil/Carlos needs :3
> 
> I felt it was best to end it there, eh *le shrug*
> 
> What did you guys think of it? Let me know in the comments!


	7. Mom's Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carlos’s mom seemed surprised to see her son and another boy she’d never seen before standing on the driveway before her, a boom box on the ground and quietly playing a melody she’d definitely and without a doubt heard before. She gave a slight smile and cast a knowing look towards Carlos, getting out of her car and slinging her work bag across her shoulder as she rose from her seat in the car, closing the door behind her and clicking the lock button and allowed the car to beep in response.

Carlos covered his mouth with his hand, heart practically fluttering out of his chest as Cecil waited eagerly and mostly nervously for a response. The answer, of course, was,

“Yes, Cecil! I’ll go on a date with you!” Cecil was overcome with joy at that, arms finally buckling under the weight of the boombox as he laughed, nearly dropping it on the floor. Carlos laughed at that too, rushing down the stairs of his home and swinging around the banister and out the door, crashing into Cecil’s arms into a hug. Cecil’s smile was broader than it possibly could have been, burying his face into Carlos’s chest and laughing in disbelief. He wished this moment could last forever, this perfect, perfect moment between the two of them. He sighed, breathing the scent of Carlos’s flannel. It smelled like cinnamon, and nature and plants. It was a wonderful and beautiful smell he wished to hold on to.

Carlos rested his head on top of Cecil’s, his hair was soft and messy and scented of strawberries. The sweater was soft and woolen against his skin, purple fabric clutched between the scientist’s fingers. The two of them stayed clutched in an embrace before Carlos’s mom’s car began to pull up into the driveway. Carlos’s face flushed with embarrassment, and Cecil lingered for a moment as Carlos pulled away from the hug.

Carlos’s mom seemed surprised to see her son and another boy she’d never seen before standing on the driveway before her, a boom box on the ground and quietly playing a melody she’d definitely and without a doubt heard before. She gave a slight smile and cast a knowing look towards Carlos, getting out of her car and slinging her work bag across her shoulder as she rose from her seat in the car, closing the door behind her and clicking the lock button and allowed the car to  _ beep _ in response.

Cecil looked at the parental figure he could only assume was Carlos’s mother and back at Carlos, then to his mom a third time. The resemblance was quite uncanny. Her face was molded to perfection and her tanned skin seemed more like a caramel color than anything, large, round glasses sitting atop her nose almost comically. Her long, midnight black hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail, several strands strewn about and decorating her face. Her outfit didn’t seem that professional, a plaid shirt (like the ones Carlos always wore, but hers had thinner stripes and were white and blue) and some knee-length shorts. She’d just come home from work, Cecil assumed, and he wondered what her profession was.

“Carlos, mi hijo! You’re home early. And with company.” She said, walking over and giving Carlos a hug.

“School got let out early today because of the hail,” Carlos explained, hugging her back.

“Hail?” Carlos’s mom asked quizzically, as if she didn’t know there was any hail.

Cecil just listened as their conversation continued, looking down and twiddling his thumbs. He was debating whether he should stay or go home at this point, and take his boombox with him. Just as he’d decided to pick up his things and leave Carlos and his mom to their idle chitchat, Carlos’s mom turned towards Cecil, looked him over, and returned her gaze back to Carlos. “Aren’t you going to introduce me?” She said in a lighthearted tone.

Carlos smiled and stepped next to Cecil, gesturing to him. “Mama, meet Cecil. He goes to my school.” Cecil took note of the apparent lack of company given to him. He wasn’t a ‘friend’, ‘acquaintance’, or even ‘boyfriend’ yet. He didn’t expect them to  _ immediately _ rise to that level, though some small part of him secretly hoped they would. Regardless, it felt odd to be introduced to someone without a proper term to describe their relationship.

“Nice to meet you, Cecil, I’m Luciana, Carlos’s mom.” She was clearly trying not to be thrown off by his third eye and tattoos which were wildly running up and down his arms due to the nervous feeling he felt.

“Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Martinez!” Cecil held out a hand for Mrs. Martinez to shake, which she did, attempting and failing to hide her reluctance. It felt kind of odd for someone to be reluctant to shake hands with the perky and well-mannered boy. Carlos smiled softly.

“Cecil and I were just about to…” Carlos trailed off, glancing over at Cecil for support.

“...Go see a movie.” Cecil replied. “I invited Carlos to go to the movies with me.”

“I see,” Mrs. Martinez said, giving a polite smile towards Cecil. “What was the boombox for, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Cecil opened his mouth to reply, but drew a blank, eyes darting over to Carlos, who was looking back at Cecil. Both of them had eyes that said they had no idea how to answer the question. Mrs. Martinez laughed softly, bringing up a hand to stifle it.

“You boys have fun at the movies.” She replied, but not without slipping a sum of cash into Carlos’s pocket unbeknownst of Cecil. Carlos smiled at his mom, and the moment of eye contact that followed was all he needed to know that she read the situation perfectly, and seemed to be okay with that, which made  Carlos’ smile grow broader.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> spoiler alert Cecil is adorable


	8. First Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cecil paid attention to the popcorn container and attempted to create a film-esque scene where their hands met in the buttery mess, but he could never time it just right.

_ This is so exciting!, _ Cecil thought to himself. He could hardly keep a giddy smile off his face as he and Carlos attempted to figure out which movie they’d watch. Carlos seemed invested in a movie about some scientist guy’s story and life, and Cecil’s chest was too fluttery to make an attempt to pick a movie. In the end, they ended up choosing the sciency movie, but Cecil hardly paid attention and kept his gaze on his very own scientist love. Cecil paid attention to the popcorn container and attempted to create a film-esque scene where their hands met in the buttery mess, but he could never time it just right. 

After the movie had finished, Carlos said he didn’t have to go home for another hour, so the two of them decided to mull around the mall and shopping complex, just walking and biding their time together. They eventually purchased some soft pretzels and sat down on the edge of the fountain, talking and laughing with each other.

Soon, topics of conversation were becoming sparse, and Carlos’s eyes kept returning to the blonde’s markings. You know, the ones that moved, and seemed to be linked to his mood in one way or another. Carlos didn’t notice when he had reached out a hand and touched the skin on Cecil’s arm, specifically where one of the markings were located. It froze, and slowly wiggled its way out from under Carlos’s gentle touch, climbing up his arm. Cecil blinked in surprise as his marking moved to Carlos. Carlos removed his hand from Cecil, looking at the marking that was now his as it explored his arm. It didn’t feel like anything, it was only to be seen and not felt. It disappeared underneath Carlos’s shirt. He returned his gaze to Cecil, whose mouth was hanging open.

He closed his mouth. “That’s new,” He remarked rather casually considering the quick whirring of his mind rendering him to respond better.. His markings never moved to other people, no matter how many people he’s touched and no matter how many people have touched him. He began to wonder if someone gave him these markings in the same way he’d given one to Carlos.

“That’s so cool... “ Carlos mumbled softly, marking now visible on his neck. It swirled around in almost hypnotic patterns, was that how it looked when people watched Cecil?

The conversation died down after a bit, but the mutual enjoyment of the moment was enough, noise not needed to fill the pleasantly silent space between them, bar the gently splishing and splashing of the fountain behind them. There weren’t many people around, and the smile that Carlos wore on his face was enchanting. Carlos noticed Cecil’s stare and his eyes flickered over to meet the other, inches away from Cecil’s face. The blonde’s face flushed with embarrassment, but he found himself unwilling to look over and away from the deep chocolatey-brown rings of color that belonged to Carlos’s eyes. Cecil found himself unable to look away either, entranced in the purple gaze of the blushing boy in front of him. Before either of them could comprehend what was happening, Carlos leaned in and…

“The mall closes in five minutes,” A blob of tentacles that worked as the janitor said, oblivious of the moment he’d shattered. His voice was like the sudden pop of a balloon, sudden and piercing. Both Cecil and Carlos pulled away from each other, their faces as red as Crayola crayons. Cecil looked away and cleared his throat awkwardly. Carlos wiped his palms on his jeans and took a bite of his soft pretzel.  _ Shit _ , both of them thought in unison.

Carlos stood up, avoiding Cecil’s eyes. “I. Should probably getting home.” His voice was shaky, and his heart was beating out of his chest. Cecil agreed, and the two wordlessly separated, going their own ways.

That night, when Carlos laid in bed, he could only wonder what could have happened, if the janitor wasn’t cleaning there, hell, if he was just three minutes later...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> QwQ I'm sorry
> 
> But also, not really, because this is super cute regardless (and I can do a ton with the plot if I leave it like I did)
> 
> Sorry it's so short ^^;


	9. Cecil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eventually, though, his mother managed to coax the apathetic teen out of bed and get him to school on time so she could arrive to her job early. Carlos’s eyes were half-closed as the warm feeling of sleep clung to his brain, making his movements sluggish and his thought process sleepily slow. So slow that it took him a moment to process that someone was talking to him, and he’d stopped to listen. Upon examination, it was Cecil… no, it wasn’t Cecil.

That morning, everybody repeated the same mundane tasks that completed their daily morning regimen. Get up. Get dressed. Pray to the Great Beast of Reality for a sliver of a chance to survive, to make it through the day, to borrow some time from someone somewhere else in order to continue your life. Eat breakfast.

Carlos didn’t want to go to school. He knew he’d see Cecil there, and last night was… awkward, to say the least, and he was almost 100% certain it would be awkward eye contact and strangely exchanged words.

Eventually, though, his mother managed to coax the apathetic teen out of bed and get him to school on time so she could arrive to her job early. Carlos’s eyes were half-closed as the warm feeling of sleep clung to his brain, making his movements sluggish and his thought process sleepily slow. So slow that it took him a moment to process that someone was talking to him, and he’d stopped to listen. Upon examination, it was Cecil… no, it wasn’t Cecil.

“...and he told me to tell you that he’s  _ terribly _ sorry,” He finished in a sympathetic voice, sharp teeth and thin lips curling into a sympathetic smile. No, it wasn’t Cecil. It was Cecil’s brother... Kevin, Carlos remembered. Said boy looked at the 

“Huh?” Carlos asked blankly. The concluding sentence wasn’t all that informative as to what he’d been talking about.

“Goodness me, I’m sorry! Ceec told me you were a morning songbird, but he must’ve been mistaken, you seem absolutely  _ miserable _ this bright morning!”

“No no,” Carlos tried to explain to the inappropriately gleeful boy, “I am, I just… wasn’t paying attention. I’m sorry. Could you repeat that?”

“Of course!” Kevin replied with a smile. It made Carlos’s face ache a little looking at the broad grin that tugged and stretched on Kevin’s face, pulling the incisions in his cheek taut. “My darling brother won’t be in today, he seems to be running a fever. Being the glad and designated messenger to relay messages from him, I bring you his  _ sincerest _ apologies!” Maybe  _ Carlos _ was the one with a fever, this whole interaction so far was somewhat like a fever dream in and of itself.

“Uh,” Carlos said, vaguely catching on to what Kevin was saying through thick sugar-coated enthusiasm, “Okay. Thanks for telling me.”

“It’s my pleasure!” And with that, Kevin strode away too quickly for Carlos to catch where he was going, and the fever dream notion let up. Carlos’s eyes lingered on where he thought he’d seen the blonde disappear to, before he headed off to the tables at the cafeteria to hang out until class started. He didn’t see Aurin either that brightful and sunny day, which he thought was rather odd.

Carlos had trouble focusing on his classes, and instead his attention was rather drawn to the purple squiggle moving around on his arm. People definitely seemed to notice it, but Carlos didn’t notice others watching him play with the small marking on his skin. His mind was on Cecil. Half of him was glad he wouldn’t see the other, only because of the awkward contact that was inevitable, but the other half of him desperately wanted to see him. He couldn’t even pay attention in Chemistry, which was certainly a first for him.

The day passed by slowly and apathetically without Cecil and Aurin. When he was picked up after school, his mom could easily see how mopey he seemed. She didn’t pry, though, sometimes her son just needed to be left alone and that was something she understood. Carlos was glad she didn’t ask him why he was so down, though part of him might have enjoyed talking about it during the long car ride home.

The next few weeks passed by at a steadily slow pace, trickling by like tap water from a sink on low,  and neither Cecil nor Aurin could be seen around the school. Carlos attempted to ask around, and nobody seemed to remember the existence of either, except for himself. His mother seemed to have an excuse set in her mind by some verbose beast of reality to convince her that she’d never met any Cecil Palmer. Carlos was starting to become extremely worried at this point, until one day.

Carlos sat in his classroom, watching the purple marking he’d grown so used to and so attached to travel around his hand and down the length of his fingers and up again. The normally busy little thing seemed to be slower and calmer, if anything sluggish today. Carlos’s foot tapped against the floor gently as he wondered for the millionth time that week,  _ why hadn’t he kissed Cecil? Was he the reason the purple boy was gone? _

A long beep signaled the beginning of the daily announcements. Carlos looked up from his hand. “Good morning students and staff of Night Vale High,” The monotonous female voice spoke over the PA, “This is Allena Vargas, your ASB vice president.

Carlos sighed softly and looked back down. He didn’t know why he’d expected anything different. For the past week, it’s been the student body’s vice president that has spoken of the daily announcements. Something in Carlos hoped that eventually, one morning, he’d hear… someone else’s voice. Cecil. That was his name.

The week after, Cecil returned. It wasn’t with a flash or a bang or even an announcement of any sort, it was as if nothing had changed at all, and to everyone else it was as if he’d never left.

“Cecil!” Carlos cried, rushing over to hug Cecil. “Where have you been?”

Cecil seemed rather confused by the entire exchange, though he wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to embrace the science babe. “At home, weekends are times for relaxing.”

“No, I mean like… the whole week! Where did you go?”

“I’ve been at school all week,” Cecil replied with a quirked eyebrow. “Carlos, are you feeling alright?”

Carlos paused for a moment, and hesitated before responding: “Yeah, I’m sorry, must be mistaken,” he lied, forcing a laugh.

The rest of the week passed once again, and nobody made note of Cecil’s absence and the teachers they shared just refused to acknowledge it. He went back to the daily announcements in the morning, their common friends acted as if Cecil hadn’t been missing. As bizarre as this situation was, nobody seemed to care. The whole incident was swept under the rug by everyone… it was odd. And will likely be explained in another chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ask me if I'm sorry for breaking the fourth wall.
> 
> "A-"
> 
> *slap* NO I'M NOT SORRY


End file.
